“The Wizard of Oz” is set for release on 4K UHD this October

Today, after much speculation and anticipation, Warner Home Video (WHV) sent out their press release and artwork for the upcoming release of The Wizard of Oz in the 4K UHD (Ultra-HD) format. The 2-disc set will be in stores on October 29th. The retail price is $41.99.

The artwork is abysmal! It looks as though some astoundingly inexperienced intern at WHV created it without any supervision. How did this ever get the green light? The idea of showing the transition from sepia to color is a good one but the execution is amateurish at best. Get it together, WHV!!!

Aside from the upgraded 4K version of the film, the contents on the discs are all ported over (“regurgitated” is more like it) from previous releases (see below). When will WHV upgrade the contents? Most of it has been copied over since the “Ultimate Oz” laserdisc release in 1993 – and it looks it! The video extras look like bad copies of old VHS tapes. The photo galleries are useless. Better quality and rarer images can be found in any decent Oz group on social media. All of those wonderful pre-recording session audio files desperately need upgrading as well. Recent advances in audio restoration make those 90s-era alternate audio tracks sound like going from CD to Edison cylinders! Also, two releases ago we were promised the Scarecrow’s extended dance outtake in HD. That didn’t happen.

That 1990 CBS-TV special (again, poor image quality) is just shy of 30 years old. It’s dated. A new special is needed. The film deserves it just as much as it deserves to have the extras upgraded.

The people who run the classics division at WHV are phoning it in. There seems to have been a malaise that’s set in over the past decade or so. The Wizard of Oz is one of the biggest jewels in their catalog and the cavalier treatment it gets from them is shocking and sad. It’s time to bring this set (the WHOLE set) into the 21st Century! To say that fans have buyer’s fatigue with these “new” sets every few years is putting it mildly. Take the time and money to do that, and watch the multitude of Oz fans make it a Day One purchase. Keep dishing out an inferior product like this and watch more and more fans stay away. It’s up to you, WHV.

The ONLY reason to purchase this is for the 4K UHD version of the film. However, you will need to replace your TV with a 4K one to get the benefits of this new release – via a 4K player of course (4K discs will not play in a Blu-ray player). If you purchased a 3D-TV and 3D player for the 75th-anniversary release five years ago you will have to move that aside and get a 4K player and TV or you won’t see the benefits of this new 4K release of a new 8K scan (see details below).

NOTE: There are already ads and articles for 8K TVs and players, so you might want to hold off. Personally, I’ll wait. You can bet WHV will slap together another “new” edition in 8K when that technology becomes the new standard. It’s too bad that as the standards of our home media options get better and better, the standards at WHV continue to get lower and lower.

There is a Best Buy steel case version that will also be available on October 29 (image above). It’s also two discs and is listed as “SteelBook, Includes Digital Copy, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray, Only @ Best Buy.” It’s assumed the two discs have the same content as the wide release version (details below) however the Best Buy retail price is cheaper at $34.99.

If previous release years are any indication, it’s a sure bet that other versions (single disc, Walmart & Costco exclusives, etc.) will be released in the coming year. iTunes had the 4K version available for a couple of days but that’s been pulled for the time being. The two days might have been an “oopsie.”

DETAILS ABOUT THE RELEASE:

The 4K version has been newly created from a new 8K scan of the original Technicolor camera negative in HDR10 and Dolby Vision both of which are be included on the 4K disc.

Per the press release, “The process was supervised by MPI colorist Janet Wilson, who has overseen ever remaster of The Wizard of Oz for the past 20 years.”

Fans in the UK can pre-order this boxed set (see above) which includes a CD of the soundtrack album (no doubt it’s the same Rhino Records version from the late 90s which is what Warner has been re-releasing over the past umpteen years). The street date for the set is October 28, 2019.

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5 comments

I had to laugh when I read you comments regarding the dated extras. I’ll go further: I’m well acquainted with a lovely guy who works at Warner’s, and he told me about this upgrade over a year ago. He said, in reality, unless you own TV equipment on a par with say, Steven Spielberg’s, you are unlikely to really notice any visual improvement. He said at this point, technical improvements are just about beyond what the human eye can decipher. He also swears that 4K will be the last step in physical media, and there is just nowhere else to go in that direction, particularly with older titles. (For those who watch TCM, you will note that they still push hundreds of titles on DVD, “as well” as Blu Ray).

What this boils down to is far worse than lousy artwork for “Oz.” It means as time goes on, it is becoming more and more unlikely that films like “Ziegfeld Follies” or “The Pirate” will see Blu Ray. And yet I cannot believe what DOES get released on Hi Def!!! Just this week, Doris Day’s enjoyable, but very cheesy thriller, “Midnight Lace” made it’s Hi Def debut. This, and so many other forgettable movies are getting upgraded, but what about other pre-stereo MGM musicals?? I have long given up on say, “For Me and My Gal” getting a proper restoration and release. I don’t think I’ll live to see “The Clock” in Hi Def either. Shouldn’t Garland’s audience be getting better choices???

Do you know, Scott, if “Summer Stock” sold well on Blu Ray? I’ve enjoyed my copy about 11 times since May, and it’s not even a super favorite. I’m just so happy to see a another Garland title get a HI Def upgrade.

What’s the odds of them adding to the jukebox, the ballad-like version of, “If I only had a brain?” Or audio that appears either On laserdisc and not on the Jukebox? From what I understand, they were
Both never complete. They could now make it all complete. I would love a new CD of the films soundtrack and all other goodies!!
I love what Warner has done for my other favorite Wizarding franchise, Harry Potter (another money maker) so why can’t they get things looking and sounding perfect as far as OZ is concerned.

I’ve read similar info about how the human eye has its limits for this sort of thing. However, although I’m sure your friend means well, he isn’t considering the fact that 8K is next and WHV will no doubt take advantage of that. They’ve shown zero restraint when it comes to milking money off of their biggest cash cow in their classics department. I would say only “Casablanca” or maybe Hitchcock comes close.

I have also noticed, as you referenced, how WHV cranks out the DVDs. I sometimes wonder if they have some warehouse that has stacks of DVDs that they need to sell, so they keep repackaging them in sets of four films, with different themes. It’s almost comical.

It would be great if they could embrace the streaming format and offer their own service where they can sell digital copies. That might help get some of the films remastered into HD or even 4K, even if those are only available for streaming. Physical discs have become more of a collector’s market (like vinyl). The general public is content with renting and/or purchasing movies via iTunes or Amazon Prime. If one has the proper TV and receiver (such as the 4K version of Apple TV), they could get the same benefits as a physical disc.

Sadly, WHV is sitting on a gold mine of not just movies but also audio content that could be remastered with today’s technology and re-released. It would make profits.